Once upon a time, a mother duck was sitting on her eggs by the side of a pond. She was waiting for them to hatch. Finally, the eggs started to crack! One by one, out came little baby ducks, making cute peeping sounds. But there was still one egg left. It didn't crack. 'Hmm, why isn't this egg breaking?' wondered the mother duck.

After some time, the last egg finally cracked open. But oh, the baby duck that came out didn't look like the others. He was very ugly with gray feathers and a big beak. The mother duck felt worried, but she loved all her babies just the same.

When the baby ducks were a little bigger, the mother took them to the water to teach them how to swim. The ugly duckling also tried his best, paddling his little legs with excitement. 'He may not look like the others, but he swims really well,' thought the mother duck. But his brothers and sisters were mean to him and pecked at him with their beaks.

One day, the ugly duckling couldn't take it anymore. He felt sad and lonely. So he left the pond and went on a journey to find a place where he belonged. Along the way, he met different animals who teased him too. 'Quack, quack, you're so ugly!' they said. But the ugly duckling didn't give up.

Finally, one lovely day, the ugly duckling found a beautiful place with a big lake and lots of birds. He saw his reflection in the water and couldn't believe his eyes. He had transformed into a beautiful swan! The other birds welcomed him with open wings. He was no longer an ugly duckling, but a magnificent swan.